Why is My Refrigerator Not Cooling?

There are a variety of reasons a refrigerator is not cooling. If you would like to save yourself some time and inconvenience, give Rapid Riverside Appliance Repair a call for refrigerator repair in Riverside, CA. We’re happy to come out and diagnose the cooling issue and repair it for you.

When your refrigerator isn’t cold, it’s time to determine what the problem is. A lot of times it’s something as common as a routine coil cleaning. However, with these latest models of refrigerators, they’re manufactured with various sensors as well.

Before we look too deep, we look at the most typical and common causes for this problem. Here are a few of of the things that we’ve determined lead to a refrigerator not cooling:

Is it plugged into an electrical outlet? This will seem like it’s a silly question, but we have been called out to jobs that this was the issue. For some reason, the refrigerator was unplugged. it’s possible a child or pet did it, or an electrician during a service visit. Whatever the reason might be, make sure the refrigerator is plugged in.

Check the thermostat inside. This is a very typical issue for families with children in their home. After all, kids love buttons and dials and so, without knowing they’re doing anything bad, they mess with them. So, check that the thermostat setting is not the cause of the warm fridge.

Refrigerator Components to Troubleshoot?

Be sure the vents in the freezer area are not blocked with food or containers. This is common since sometimes bags of frozen vegetables get jammed in the back. There could be food in the very back of a freezer unit that has long been forgotten.

Be sure the refrigerator’s condenser cooling fan is clear and clean of debris. To check this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the wall. The fan for several models is right at the bottom of the appliance or in the back of the freezer unit. A lot of times, people don’t think to clean this section of the appliance. But, it is very important to keep it clean. And, it piles up with dust and fuzz quickly, especially in homes that have pets. So, grab a rag and clean the collected dust out of the coils and cooling fan.

This is not recommended for refrigerators that have a back coil system. Once everything is clean, plug it into the wall and see if the cooling fan spins.

The Freezer is Cold but the Refrigerator Isn’t

There are a few more reasons for a refrigerator not cooling after these more common ones to start to check if the freezer is cool but the fridge isn’t. The evaporator coils are frosted over. This occurs if there’s a malfunction in the defrost system. Or if the automatic defrost has an issue. The evaporator fan motor is another reason.

Every refrigerator has a set of evaporator coils. These evaporator coils are what gets cold and the fan pushes the cool air throughout the unit. The damper control assembly working properly. The temperature control board that provides the electricity to the fan and compressor, this probably is not the problem but it’s worth troubleshooting.

And, the thermistor might be malfunctioning, which is a tiny sensor within the unit that tells the temperature. Having one of our technicians look at it is the best course of action but these are a few of of the most common problems.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Ice Maker Isn’t Working
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?
• Refrigerator is Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working